First Friday draws crowds to downtown

For downtown businesses, First Friday means big business and plenty of preparation.

Jessica Holbrook CantonRep.com business writer @JHolbrookREP

Around 2 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 7, the last of the lunch crowd was paying their bills and drifting out into the winter sunshine as an acoustic guitarist finished his set.

It was a brief intermission for the crew at George’s Lounge, 229 Cleveland Ave. NW, before spending the next few hours prepping for what likely was their busiest night that month.

It was First Friday, a monthly arts and music showcase that draws a large crowd to the downtown Canton Arts District.

George’s, right in the middle of the action, served at least $1,500 in drinks that night, said Lauren McMichael, a bartender and server who noted that the bar has cheaper-than-average drink prices.

McMichael is a sister of Aaron and Ray McMichael, brothers who own George’s with longtime friend Jon Degenhard.

REHEARSAL

On a busy First Friday (usually during summer), the bar and restaurant will see a couple thousand patrons, McMichael said.

Bracing for that crowd requires a lot of preparation. The bar brings on extra staff members — almost all of its about 14 employees will work on First Friday — and has to ensure everything is restocked and ready to go.

For McMichael and other bartenders, servers and chefs, First Friday is easily a 12-hour day. They’ll work the lunch shift, maybe take off for a few hours while the bar is closed (2 p.m. to 5 p.m.) and come back for the rest of the night. The bar serves food and drinks until 2 a.m.

“In some weird way, it’s like you’re getting ready for a performance,” she said, likening it to readying for a ballet recital. “You have to know your steps, stretch, be prepared.”

George’s embraces the First Friday party, both as a boost to its own business and a way to support their friends and neighbors — the downtown Canton community.

“More people downtown helps everybody,” Degenhard said.

“We’re not just an island.”

The restaurant collaborates and cross-promotes as often as possible with other downtown businesses, he said. And they try to coordinate food and drink specials with the First Friday theme, such as February’s “I’m Yours” burger.

SHOWTIME

By 6 p.m., George’s is packed: Colleagues grabbing a drink after work, friends starting their evening off with loaded cheese fries and cocktails, and couples sipping beer on barstools. A driving rock band — live music is a mainstay at George’s — helps turn the dark bar into a celebration.

Despite sub-zero windchills and mounds of snow outside, the crowd keeps on coming. Soon it’s hard to maneuver between the huge wooden horseshoe bar and vinyl booths that make up the pub.

Tracy Glaser-Bacon is at the bar chowing down on burgers with her wife. The two are First Friday regulars and hit George’s on their move through the Arts District with friends.

“It has to be pretty bad downtown for us to not be here,” she said.

First Friday gives people a chance to see and visit downtown businesses they might not even know existed, Anissa Glaser-Bacon added.

The couple leads ministry at New Vision United Church of Christ in Canton. First Friday gives Anissa, the church’s pastor, a chance to network and find local businesses to patronize, she said.

The First Friday crowd is usually a mix of regulars and those out for a night downtown, Degenhard said, and it brings in new customers.

It’s a diverse crowd, from young adults to old-timers who tell stories of the original George’s decades ago, he said. “It’s a fun atmosphere no matter what it is.”

AFTER PARTY

Though it’s often their busiest night, First Friday isn’t George’s only night.

“Some businesses, it’s the heart of their business. We try to stay open all week,” Degenhard said.

When Degenhard and the McMichaels re-opened the bar, a downtown legacy, in 2012, they just served drinks. Last year, they started serving food, catering to both downtown workers at lunch and late-night diners (the kitchen is open until 2 a.m.).

“This place has been here since 1959. We had to keep it going,” Degenhard said.

They recently added more live music, offering sets during lunch and most nights, along with expanded lunch hours.

It’s part of a bigger plan to make downtown a destination spot, somewhere people will visit more than once a month, Degenhard said.

And it helps cement George’s as a standard — no matter when you visit — day or night — you’ll have fun, he said.

“Anytime you come to George’s, it’s going to be a good time,” he said.